One of the most famous swimming techniques is the breaststroke technique. It is famed for its difficulty to perform, and for the fact that it is one of the most physically demanding techniques. In this blog, we will discuss the breaststroke technique.
As with most other things, once you get the hand of the breaststroke technique, you will come to realize that it isn’t as complicated as people, sometimes, make it to be.
Breaststroke technique is one of the last techniques you will learn, and if you are searching for it, chances are that you, at the very least, are a moderate swimmer.
So let’s take a simplified view on how the breaststroke technique works and how you can start practicing it yourself.
How to do the Breaststroke Technique?
First things first, we feel obligated to mention that nothing can help you more in learning any technique more than swimming lessons. Definitely consider them before you start on your own.
With that out of the way, let us begin by dividing the breaststroke technique into three main parts. The Glide, The Pull and The Kick.
The Glide – This is the position in which you begin this stroke. It is a position in which your body is laid flat, on your stomach, with hands and feet extended forward and backward. This is also the position in which you will end up after you complete the breaststroke.
The Pull – This is where things get a bit more complicated. The Pull here refers mostly to the movement that you have to perform with your arms. You begin by simply setting your hands in a praying position. This position is followed by a full extension of the arms forward. Once there the palms move and from a praying position, you start opening your hands, moving them in a manner that creates a ‘Y’ shape with your arms and body.
With hands spread and arms extended, it is time to generate some forward movement. You achieve that by simply bending your elbows, moving your hands and forearms down, to push the water under and behind you. The goal is to end up with your hands again in front of your chest, praying style, while your body lays flat again. This enables you to restart and go for another breaststroke.
The Kick – The last but definitely not least part of the Breaststroke technique is the kick. This is a part dedicated to the movement of your legs. Unlike most other techniques, here the movement of the leg is similar to the movement that frogs usually do; thus the breaststroke kick is usually called a frog kick.
The kick begins with your feet extended straight, followed by bending the knees and moving them close to your torso. Once there spread your legs and extend them backwards. This should be done in a rapid and swift motion. After the kick, the legs should be pulled back together reaching yet again the position in which we started, feet end legs extended straight.
As you can see the breaststroke technique can be quite challenging. Explaining it with simple words, without demonstrating it, makes the technique seem even more complex and hardcore.
Going back again to what we said earlier. Tutorials and internet info go only so far in helping you learn something new, that is why every expert recommends you enroll for swim lessons.
Mistakes people make when learning the breaststroke technique include but are not limited to:
- Going for as many strokes as possible
This is somewhat problematic because a lot of people have this wrong notion in their heads that the more strokes the better. That isn’t always the case, and instead of quantity, you should focus on quality.
- Trying to move your arms as fast as you can
This isn’t always a great idea. You see, most of the time, faster movement will only make you grow tired quicker. Again, the quality of the strokes should come over the quantity and speed.
- Performing short strokes
Most of the time, we see swimmers who are learning this technique forget about the length of the strokes, and in turn make short and rapid strokes. Try and avoid this.
- Pulling the arms back too far
This is another common mistake that a lot of new learners make. This causes you to face higher resistance from the water, which again, in turn will make you grow tired.
- Injuries
Swimming is relatively safe, and injuries are pretty rare. When learning a new technique though, you increase the chances for injuries to occur. Be mindful of this and be safe at all times.
Breaststroke technique is a complicated and hard swimming technique, as such not many people are interested in it. Nonetheless it is neat, and if you can attain it; definitely go for it!
